Work is expected to begin next week on transforming an unassuming Moray hill with links to one of Shakespeare’s most famous characters into a holiday park inspired by the story.
The mound near Brodie is fabled as the spot where Macbeth meets the three witches who predict his demise.
Landowners Karen and George Sutherland have planning permission to place five small lodges around the foot of the hillock.
Now the project has been given a boost by landing £118,415 from Moray Leader, which allocates EU funding.
Yesterday Mrs Sutherland vowed to press ahead with the plans despite one route option proposed for the A96 Aberdeen to Inverness dualling going over the summit of the hill.
She said: “The future is still uncertain – all we can do is hope for the best and hope it doesn’t come this way. We don’t really want to stop though.
Mrs Sutherland added: “It’s taken a long time for us to get to this stage and, being realistic, I don’t know how we would manage it without this funding.
“The hillock has been an unassuming corner of a field for so long now, that’s why Transport Scotland didn’t know about it. It could be a really big draw to Moray.”
The preferred route for the dualled A96 between Fochabers and Nairn will be announced by Transport Scotland late next year.
Moray Leader described the mound as an “undervalued tourist” destination when deciding to fund the projects.
The lodges, which are expected to be ready to welcome the first visitors in April or May next year, will have a slightly uneven appearance to resemble witch huts.
Information boards will also be put up to tell the Shakespeare story of Macbeth and the witches as well as the real Macbeth, who ruled as King of Scots until 1057.
Moray Leader has awarded a total of £500,000 for projects in the region, including £28,000 for Elgin Museum renovations, £369,000 to build a social enterprise centre at the Findhorn Ecovillage and £3,100 to Moray Foodbank to host a poverty conference.
Moray Leader programme manager Norman MacAskill said: “These projects are excellent and varied, all of which will contribute to the economic and community development of Moray.
“In their subject, size and scope, they demonstrate the wide variety of activities that can be funded. We know that many other exciting projects will be coming up for consideration in the near future.”
